Old-Time Gardening Wisdom

I strongly believe in using good old time-tested methods in all aspects of our lives, including growing our own food and cooking from scratch.

The book 'Old-Time Gardening Wisdom: lessons learned from Grandma Putt's kitchen cupboard, medicine cabinet, and garden shed!' by Jerry Baker provides time-tested advice for gardeners. I bought this book from Amazon.com after reading good reviews about it, and I really get lots of useful information from it.


Here is Grandma Putt's formula for her fabulous All-Purpose Organic Fertilizer (page 18):

1 part of dehydrated manure (nitrogen)
1 part bone meal (phosphorus)
3 parts granite dust (potassium)
5 parts seaweed meal (trace elements)

Mix the above in a large, old wheelbarrow. Come chow time, wheel it out into the garden, and put it into action!

Here are some of Grandma Putt's Words of Wisdom from the book:

"Plants, like people, need lots of sunlight to survive."

"Cover up your garden in fall, and it'll be rarin' to grow in spring."

"Plant in the morning, harvest in the evening."

"The soil is like a tableful of food - each plant the sits down and eats leaves less for those who follow."

"Garden enemies are born bullies; they almost always pick on plants that are weaklings."

"Talking to your plants is fine, but listening to them is even more important."

"Herbs need sunlight to produce their essential oils."

"Never plant a five dollar tree in a five cent hole."

"Mulch is a must, so you must mulch!"

"When it comes to watering, you need to be cruel to be kind."

"If a job's worth doing, it's a job worth doing well."

"Shallow watering causes a shallow root system."

"Think big, but plant small (plots of vegetables)."